Chapter 143
C143 – The White-robed Swordsman
“Yes.”
Loong Chen said in a low voice.
In the following instant, the world transformed, and a virtual figure clad in a white robe materialized before him.
“The challenge has now officially commenced. Challenge objective: Perform for ten minutes while facing off against a virtual adversary.”
“Upon successfully completing the level, your reward will be the option to select any Seven Star treasure from the treasure vault.”
Upon hearing the enticing reward for completing the level, Loong Chen’s demeanor remained unchanged.
At this point, the entire Dragon God Temple belonged to him. Anything he desired, he could simply voice it.
His current concern was conquering the level.
Loong Chen squinted his eyes, fixing his gaze on the white figure.
The figure resembled a middle-aged man, draped in a white robe, and brandishing a virtual sword. He bore the appearance of an ancient swordsman.
He had crossed swords with this individual before, but couldn’t hold out for even five minutes.
Back then, he was merely a Level 2 Evolver warrior, while the white-robed man stood as a Level 5 warrior.
Now, having ascended to a Level 6 Grandmaster, the strength of this middle-aged man in white had also amplified.
“His aura should be at least at the King Level Middle Period,” Loong Chen speculated inwardly.
The Tower of Trials’ opponents’ strength on each level was dictated by the challenger’s level.
A Grandmaster was required to endure for ten minutes against a King Level adversary. For others, this might pose a significant challenge.
But for Loong Chen, it was far from being a formidable task.
His self-imposed objective was to vanquish the adversary within ten minutes!
“Come!”
Long Chen yelled loudly, with no intention of wasting any time, and promptly drew his trident.
He charged toward the middle-aged man in white robes.
The white-robed man remained calm when confronted with Long Chen’s formidable attack.
He appeared to predict the path of Long Chen’s assault, consistently and accurately blocking it.
“This is intriguing.”
Inwardly, Long Chen sighed. His trident was both sharp and heavy, a weapon that few could confront head-on.
Even King Level Early Period warriors like Murong Fu and Chen Hongtian would not dare to directly face it, yet this white-robed man seemed to handle it effortlessly.
This piqued Long Chen’s interest.
“However, this should mark the end!”
With a cold snort, Long Chen unleashed Poseidon’s Seven Styles’ ultimate technique, the One Halberd Annihilation.
An immense blue light instantly coalesced into a colossal illusory trident, brimming with an incredibly potent force as it thrust toward the middle-aged man in white robes.
This technique could easily overpower a King Level Early Period Evolver. While the white-robed man might be even stronger, withstanding this assault wouldn’t be straightforward.
However, Long Chen was left in astonishment the very next moment.
Long Chen witnessed the sword in the white-robed man’s hand executing a series of extraordinary and mysterious maneuvers, causing the illusory trident to shatter piece by piece under the white-robed man’s sword.
“How is this possible!?”
Long Chen cried out in shock. His most powerful attack had been effortlessly dismantled by his opponent.
Before he could ponder it further, a sharp glint flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes, dressed in white robes.
In the next instant, he stood before Loong Chen, gripping his sword with both hands.
A terrifying aura gathered around him, sending shivers down Loong Chen’s spine.
It was a fear that could strike one’s very soul. Loong Chen had no doubt that this attack could even slay an expert at the King Level Early Period.
“Detected the presence of a retrievable element nearby. Do you wish to retrieve it?”
At that precise moment, the system’s voice suddenly echoed in Loong Chen’s mind.
Loong Chen blinked in surprise and then spotted a white orb falling beside the white-robed middle-aged man.
On the orb, there appeared to be an engraving of a sword.
“Retrieve it.”
Although uncertain of its nature, Loong Chen decided to pick it up without hesitation.
“Retrieval successful. Congratulations on obtaining a fragment of the Law of the Sword.”
“Congratulations on grasping Sword Intent Level 1.”
Law of the Sword? Sword intent?
Loong Chen was astonished.
Sword intent represented the lifelong pursuit of a sword cultivator and stood as the mightiest among all martial concepts.
He had heard tales of a Grandmaster who had dedicated dozens or even hundreds of years solely to mastering the sword, all in the quest to grasp even a sliver of sword intent.
However, sword cultivators who could truly grasp the essence of sword intent were exceedingly rare.
Many sword cultivators, even if they dedicated their entire lives, might never fathom the depths of sword intent.
Yet, Loong Chen unexpectedly managed to comprehend it without conscious effort.
“However, I have no use for a sword. Does this sword intent hold any significance for me?”
Loong Chen pondered inwardly, but the present circumstances didn’t allow him much time for contemplation.
The fact that he could glean a shard of the Law of the Sword from the white-robed middle-aged man implied that the latter too had understood the sword intent.
A sword cultivator wielding sword intent was undoubtedly several times more formidable than an Evolver of the same level.
If his previous strength merely reached the King Level Middle Period, then with the current presence of sword intent, he might ascend to the King Level Late Period.
The white-robed sword cultivator pushed his sword intent to its utmost, causing his sword to emit a brilliant radiance.
He abruptly executed a downward slash, and the substantial sword intent manifested instantly, hurtling toward Loong Chen.
“Divine Might!”
Loong Chen swiftly activated the Law of Space, conjuring a Black Hole Vortex before him.
By this point, the corporeal sword intent had arrived.
The Black Hole Vortex began to whirl vigorously, astonishingly absorbing more than half of the sword intent’s assault.
The remaining sword intent impacted Loong Chen’s body, but it merely compelled him to step back a few paces.
“Undoubtedly, the Law of Space wields great might.”
Loong Chen concealed his admiration and gazed at the white-robed sword cultivator with a sardonic grin.
“Have you ever experienced the sensation of your sword intent turning against you?”
The white-robed sword cultivator was instantly left speechless. However, he swiftly sensed that something was amiss.
He quickly spun around, but it was already too late.
A Black Hole Vortex materialized behind the white-robed sword cultivator. More than half of the absorbed sword intent’s attack was forcefully regurgitated and sent back to the white-robed sword cultivator without any hesitation.
The white-robed sword cultivator urgently brandished his cherished sword, attempting to disperse the sword intent.
How could Loong Chen, who was positioned behind him, let this opportunity slip by?
“Face my strike, One Halberd Annihilation!”
Loong Chen yelled and propelled himself upward.
The trident emitted waves of blue light, transforming into a massive silhouette and hurtling toward the white-robed sword cultivator.
In front of the white-robed sword cultivator was the sword intent assault, and behind him loomed the apparition of a Trident. He had no means to defend against both front and rear simultaneously.
Eventually, two formidable energies trapped the white-robed sword cultivator in between. A deafening explosion resounded.
The figure of the white-robed sword cultivator began to slowly dissipate.
“Successful pick up. ‘Acquired Power Attribute x2,500.'”
“[Successful pick up.] Received speed attribute x3,000.”
Loong Chen was aware that he could gain attribute points by defeating the virtual character, so he wasn’t taken aback.
He patiently awaited the arrival of the ninth floor.
He had already encountered such a formidable opponent on the eighth floor, so who would he face on the ninth floor?
Initially brimming with confidence, Loong Chen now felt somewhat anxious.
“You have successfully cleared the eighth floor. Would you like to proceed with the challenge on the ninth floor?”
Without delay, the mechanical voice echoed once again.